


To New Lands and New Loves

by AceQueenKing



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, Moving On, Physical Disability
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-06 04:23:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11592861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceQueenKing/pseuds/AceQueenKing
Summary: Sara came to Andromeda with the hope of seeing new shores and meeting new people. Six months after waking up from a coma, she's still not walking right yet and she's barely been off the Nexus and her girlfriend works long hours in a ship doing all the things she wished she could do.





	To New Lands and New Loves

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cakeisatruth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cakeisatruth/gifts).



Despite her brief stay in a coma, Sara's days post-coming to Andromeda had not been much more exciting than her days before she had come to Andromeda. Every morning, she got up, brushed her teeth, waited for her turn in the shower, and went to work. Since she had not been a typical colonist, and, privately, she did not think she'd even been awake yet had her name not been Ryder, she spent most of her time working wherever someone needed more hands.

Once, she was a scout. Now, she was anything the Initiative needed that didn't require her on her feet too long. Monday, she was in the exchange center, shaking hands with VI and talking to Angaran visitors about the Milky Way. Tuesday: running wiring with Raj Patil. Wednesday: Cataloging soil samples with Vorn and Chief Lucan. Thursday: Bar-maiding with Dutch for Thirsty Thursday. Friday, Saturday, Sunday: Scrubbing down the clinic with Dr. Harry, thanks to the influx of Nexus drunkards from the aforementioned Thirsty Thursday and the weekend.

The nights were much the same. Wash her face, moisturize; evening stretches, thirty minutes of meditation. And then, right before bed, she allowed herself the greatest pleasure she could: calling the Tempest.

Never before 8pm Nexus time; and rarely, though she felt a stab of guilt about it, to her brother.

She hadn't quite forgiven him for lying yet; about dad, about...everything. Their calls had been a bit strained, but things were getting a bit better. Still, it was hard to call him, when she already felt on guard about her injuries. Fortunately, Scott had encouraged her to call both him and the Tempest's crew, anticipating she'd be joining him in no time. She did call everyone as much as possible, but in truth Sara felt closest to the crew. Well, one member of the crew.

With a smile, she settled in in front of the computer and connected to the Tempest's CQC.

"Hello, Sara!" Suvi said, her familiar lilting voice and smile instantly smoothing down all of Sara's frazzled doubts about belonging. Suvi always looked at her like she belonged.

"Suvi," she said and smiled, shy. "What did you do today?"

Suvi grinned and tossed one long strand of her strawberry blond hair behind her. "Oh, the usual. Flying with Kallo. Watching Kallo fight with Gil. Watching your brother stare at maps for twenty minutes before deciding to go off-ship to do one more thing for a colonist. Did you go to your physical therapy, hon?"

"Ugh." Ryder wrinkled her nose. "Harry is such a slave-driver."

"I'll take that as a yes." Suvi winked, and Sara's heart beat faster. "You know it's good for you."

"Doesn't feel good for me." Sara sighed and looked away. She had hoped that Suvi wouldn't have brought up the subject of her physical therapy, but she had, and now there was no avoiding it. She looked down, not wanting to see Suvi's no-doubt worried expression at the news she had to tell her. "Doc Harry says I'm not healing as fast as he likes. He thinks the combination of weak muscles from the coma and the damage from the Kett might have been - " She tried to swallow, but her mouth was dry. "Might have been permanent."

"Oh, Sara." Suvi sighed. "I'm sorry. I know you were hopin' for better news."

"Yeah." She swallowed again, blinked back tears. Scott was waiting on her getting out, she knew, his patience already thinning. She knew her brother loved her, but how long could he keep the seat for a scout on the Tempest open for her? Sooner or later, he'd be forced to cut her, and, sooner or later, she'd wind up Dutch's barmaid for life - and as much as she liked Dutch, she couldn't imagine having crossed 600 light-years just to serve drinks to tourists and overworked initiative members. Or, worse, she'd be permanently assigned to Medbay. She liked Doctor Harry, but considering she already had to be monitored 24/7, she really hated the thought of never leaving the Medbay.

"Well, don't have to have a good leg to work on the Tempest," Suvi said, quietly. "Maybe God closes a door, but He always leaves open a window, Sara."

"It's fine," she said, though it really wasn't. She struggled to have the same faith Suvi had. "I'll serve the Initiative any way I can. Just would like to leave the Med-bay at some point, you know?"

"Sara," came Dr. Harry's voice in a warning. She looked up, jarred, as his tired face swam into view, lit up by the display on her omni. "Lights out was 20 minutes ago."

She sighed again. Harry the Slave-Driver struck again. She debated trying to get an extension on her time but saw from his face that none would be forthcoming.

"Just give me a minute to wrap this up, okay?" She turned back to Suvi, whose omni was already glowing. "I gotta go, lovely."

"I figured. I'm transferin' a new file for you to listen to tonight—Jaal gave me some more philosophical texts from the Moshae to send on to you. Thought you'd find'em interesting."

"Thanks," she said, and made a note to thank Jaal as well. "Well, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Lookin' forward," Suvi said, and smiled. The image faded out with a wink, and Sara turned her omni-buds on, flickering on the file from Suvi and turning off the display. Satisfied, Harry left her, and she heard his clip-clapping feed running down the hallway to no doubt harass another patient with well-meaning bedside manners.

"Sara, this is the Angaran legend of creation. Once, there was nothing..." Sara breathed deep, concentrated on the sound of her girl's voice, and slowly fell asleep.

* * *

Sara awoke and, like every Thursday, spent the morning to early evening with Dutch. Her leg cramped after hour five, and Dutch had not-so-subtly switched her over to pouring instead of serving. She knew he had done it to try to make her feel better, but it made her feel worse – if she couldn’t even be a waitress, how could she ever be a scout again?

She texted Scott her thought, but he responded with _don’t talk like that. Love u._ Sweet, but not exactly helpful. She knew he must have told the crew too, because she got no less than seventeen messages from the crew, including a media list of “Android classics” like _Ghost in the Shell_ and _Robocop_ from Liam, an offer to have a doctor on Aya check her leg from Jaal, six different messages on different Asari yoga stretches from Cora and two from Lexi, and no less than three offers of different potential forms of leg supports from Kallo, Gil, and Peebee they were all willing to build her. Drack with pictures of different metal limbs and a note that being a cyborg “wasn’t half bad.” That one, at least, made her smile.

Her favorite response came from Suvi, who sent her a bunch of kitten pictures and notes about the rock sample Sara had given her. That gave her the strength to actually go through to her physical therapy, though she still wasn’t enjoying it.

She left at 16:00 Nexus Standard time for her physical therapy. Harry wasn’t pleased by the limp and demanded to know if she’d been doing the stretches he’d insisted upon adding. Despite all assurances that she had, Doc Harry had made sure to scan her leg before moving onward to physical therapy, helping her muscles bend and move in all kinds of incredibly painful positions. As a result, it was well after 19:00 Nexus Standard time before she got to crawl mercifully into the cot that had become her bed.

Suvi, thankfully, picked up after the first ring. “Yer late. Was beginnin’ to get a bit worried.”

“Doc kept me a little longer.” She winced. “He’s a regular sadist.”

“For your own good.” He said, and she jumped, his face once again lit by the meager glow of her omni.

“Jeez!” She looked at him, her cheeks burning an indignant red. “Come on, Harry! Can’t I please-?”

“I am only coming to tell you light’s out. But since I kept you late, I will give you an extra ten minutes, like the sadist I am.”

He didn’t bother to listen to her indignant reply before stalking off, and Suvi chuckled on the other end.

“I think you need a break from that lab.” Suvi smiled softly. “I’ve got something to ask you. We’ve got a break coming up next week. Was plannin’ on going to the Nexus to see ye, but maybe we should head out – do you like beaches, hon?”

“I love beaches,” she said, though, in truth, she would love anything that could get her out of the Nexus for once. “But I doubt Doc is gonna let me go.”

“Oh let me talk to him,” Suvi winked. “I’ve got my ways.”

“Uh-huh.” She doubted that Suvi could make Harry do anything that went against his Hypocratic Oath to torture her, but if there was someone who could, it would be Suvi.

\- - -

She was shocked when Harry gave her a travel pass.

“Is this a Joke?”

“I’m not Satan,” Harry said, his eyes definitively amused. “But you’re not to do anything too strenuous on your vacation, understand?”

“I’ll try not to go rock climbing.” She said dryly.

\- - -

Kadara was a planet of rocks and sulfur. An ungodly smell of it permeated the air, even the Initiative outpost. Sara did not care.

Suvi was there, waiting. She saw the Tempest as her shuttle came down and ran toward it – well, hobbled toward it. Suvi picked her up at the door, holding her and hugging her and kissing her. Scott was there too, but stood on the side, more embarrassed.

“Good to see you, sis,” he said. His ears were just the slightest bit of pink; he’d taken after their father in that regard, never much one for any display of affection.

“You too.” She grinned, then dipped Suvi, plunging her into a long and sweet kiss. “Don’t wait up too late, Bro.”

“I’ll try,” he said, but he couldn’t quite look at either of them, and somehow, that made her feel a little bit better, to know that no matter how much of a Big God-Damn Hero Scott was, that some things about him remained the same awkward little brother he’d always been.

“Let’s go to the shoreline,” Suvi said, excited, her hands already on her omni, no doubt renting a Nomad.

“Lead the way,” she said, limping along beside her. Soon enough she’d be back to the Med-pay, back to the grind of everyday work in the Nexus, and back to a long distance relationship with her girlfriend. But for now – she had the sunshine, and the air, and Suvi.

And that made all the long days a _lot_ more bearable.


End file.
